Emily laughing!

I finally got Emily to laugh out loud yesterday! I was so freaking excited I couldn't stand it!  I was just taking her picture to send to the friend that gave her this cute outfit so I had my iPhone ready and was able to catch it on video. I was thrilled b/c I've been trying to get a giggle out of her for weeks now!  Blaine actually got a little chuckle out of her earlier this week when he was home for lunch and I was so jealous. I mean, I'm funny too! :)
I hope this video works (sorry it's unsteady...I was bouncing on the chair and more concerned with keeping her laughing than taking the video)

Missing the beach...

This sweltering triple digit heat has me missing the coastal breeze that we enjoyed two weeks ago in Emerald Isle.  Somehow its ALWAYS hotter when we get back inland and summer really takes off. 
Here are some more pictures from our fun week at the beach...

Emily, Chase (my cousin's son) and his BeBe (my Aunt Betty Ann)

We of course had more than one bathing suit. Emily's Aunt Allyson bought her this one too...

Emily had the best time playing with her aunt Allyson. I don't think either of them stopped laughing at each other and Allyson was even pretty good at settling her down and getting her to sleep by watching for her queues, we miss her terribly.

Blaine was especially glad to get some time to spend with Miss Emily. They hung out quite a bit which was really a nice break for me. I was able to catch some rays and lay out on the beach even.  The one day I did walk over to the beach Blaine called me right around the time she was ready to nurse and said "I'd like to order some milk"...hahaha, I thought it was really funny especially when I my dad showed up over the dune just after that and I wondered if he was there to pick up the said milk! :)
Here they are playing horsey (she's gotten really good at holding her head up but this picture doesn't really look that way!)

Emily got to spend some special time with her great grandpa Hubert too. Here he's singing her a sweet song. Maybe she'll be used to his beard and not be afraid of Santa! :)

We really loved hanging out on the screened in porch overlooking the sound and watching the sunset. The star of the week though was my cousin's son, Chase. What a funny little guy. He was really entertaing all week and is such a good kid. I got to spend some time reading to him and here he's showing Blaine how to play the guitar!  We had the best time laughing at him!

One of the best parts of the trip was watching my mom and sister talk to Emily. She is so funny and active in the mornings so we made sure they got to experience it.  I love this time with her and everyday I fall deeper in love with her.

I mean how do you not fall in love with that face!

While it was definetely "different" having a baby with us at the beach, we had a good time as a family (we still think it's weird that we actually have a baby but wouldn't have it any other way).  Blaine and I even got to go out one evening after she went to bed and we joined everyone in the annual go cart race at the local track. We just didn't get to stay for putt-putt this year, but that's ok...i'm sure we'll be spending many other trips playing putt-putt. Blaine was able to go golfing with my cousin, Matt and Emily and I went with my mom and sister to do some wedding dress shopping! Spending time with family is something I cherish and I'm so thankful that we are all so close and can get together as often as we do. I'm a lucky gal!
God is good!

XOXO

Happy Birthday Blaine!!

Happy Birthday to the best husband and daddy two girls could ask for! 

His birthday was yesterday but i didn't have time to write a post! :)

Blaine turned 35 yesterday and we celebrated by having brownies and ice cream at his office that his mom brought.  It was fun to see everyone and get out of the house for a little while.  We'll celebrate more this weekend.



Yesterday also marked the first time we went out by ourselves as a couple for a "date"...well, we just went to the Rotary installation banquet but it was still fun! 

I'm so thankful to have Blaine in my life. He really is a gift from God and I can't imagine sharing this life with anyone else. My heart is so full of love for him and seeing him with Emily has made me fall in love with him even more.  He's so funny and we have the best time together.  He's always my partner and biggest cheerleader.  I love him so much and i know that Emily loves him too the way she lights up when she sees him.  We are the lucky ones!

Happy Birthday honey!

Two month shots :(

Emily had her two month shots yesterday. I couldn't really tell you what they were for (guess i should have done more research), I just know they were awful!  Blaine thankfully went with us to the doctor's office. Not sure i would have been strong enough by myself.

This is her before (we had to take her clothes off to be weighted, she didn't go to the Dr without clothes) :) 

She got a great report...weighing in at 12lbs 8oz!  The Dr is increasing her prescription amount for her Zantac too but hopefully we won't have to take it much longer.  Then the mean nurse came in and made our sweet baby cry with those awful shots.  I picked her up right away and she screamed and cried and so did I...I wasn't able to console her but her daddy was.  I felt a little left out since I wanted a hug and to be held too!  She was fine for a couple of hours but then got really upset.  She calmed down enough for us to do our nightly bath time routine but then was upset again.  This time she was screaming so bad and I of course started crying too.  We finally took her temperature and she had a low grade fever so we gave her some baby Tylenol and she settled down enough to nurse.  Miraculously she went to sleep at a decent time and I climbed into bed after her in anticipation of a long night.  She woke up at 1:15am and 5:30am which isn't normal but not terrible. 

This morning she was all smiles and talking again so I guess she's fine.  She's actually napped a little better so I've taken advantage of the opportunity to have her sleep in her crib for naps, though they are still VERY short. 

Now we know what to expect and will have Tylenol ready for the next time although I doubt it will be any easier...

2 months old today!

We're celebrating Emily's 2 month birthday at the beach today!  The Wilder's annual beach vacation is this week so we're hanging out in Emerald Isle, NC.

Our week began with Father's Day. Blaine is the best dad a little girl could ask for (my daddy ranks up there too!). He is very good with Emily and loves her so much. You can tell she really loves him too.  We had some special time as a family in bed before we had to pack up and leave for the beach. I love him so very much and my heart melts when I see him love on our little girl.

We got to have lunch with Blaine's family before leaving town for Father's Day too. Here's Emily and her Grandpa Riney!

She was a trooper on the drive to the beach but got a little overwhelmed with everyone when we got here. But we settled down and started having some fun.  My sister, Allyson, helped me give Emily a bath and get her ready for bed. This was her idea of styling her hair (which is a little curly when it's wet)! Allyson has giggled all week at Emily and it's so funny!  I mean how do you not laugh at this!?!?

We dressed her up in her new swimsuit for a little fun too...how cute is she with her sunglasses on top of her head!?!?! So stylish!

Of course we had to add the hat (and then she got upset so we gave her the paci) but we had to get a picture of the whole get up...so funny, our little doll!

My whole family has been really helpful giving us a break taking care of sweet Emily. I really appreciate the help and love them so much!

She's getting to be such a big girl. First we took out the sling in her tiny bathtub and this week we let Emily ride forward facing in her stroller. Her car seat carrier clicks into an attachment bar on the BOB stroller and she would ride backwards up until now. Very safe but very hot this time of year; everytime I take her out she feels so sweaty and hot and I feel bad. I think this way is much better and she seems to enjoy it too. 

We'll keep on having fun, life is good. :) XOXO

Such a trooper!

We had a fun/busy weekend and Emily was such a trooper!  She hung in there with us everywhere we went and was such a good baby. 

Blaine had to go out of town this past weekend so Emily and I went to my parents house in Henderson.  We first went to visit my office in Durham so that everyone could meet Miss Emily. She did great, as always, in the car and while we were there.  Then we headed on to Henderson from there.  She started going every 3 hours between feedings all of a sudden and that was a blessing since it allowed us some freedom to do some things.  And we took advantage of the time for sure!

My sister is engaged to be married and wanted us to check out some venue's around Henderson for her so we packed Emily up and went scouting.  First was Purpleberry Plantation in Louisburg on Thursday afternoon where we toured the grounds and house. It was all very pretty. 

On Friday I took Emily to visit my MaMa and PaPa which was just so neat.  MaMa was the lady that kept my sister and I when we were little at her in home daycare. She is so special to me and I have so many wonderful memories of my time with her.  She and PaPa have had some health scares recently and I haven't been home long enough to go visit them so I took advantage of the free day. It was so special to be there with them. MaMa actually surprised me by coming to my baby shower and it was so touching.  She thinks Emily looks like my dad!

Later that afternoon we visited another venue for the wedding, Magnolia Manor in Warrenton.  Allyson and Matt ultimately decided to have the wedding here and i know it will be beautiful and everything they want it to be. 

We went out to dinner on Friday night (a first for Emily, she's only been to lunch and breakfast).  She was such a good girl!

 On Saturday we went to two graduation parties for some friends graduating from high school and had a good time visiting with friends and family.  We also finally got to get Freeze Maid ice cream this weekend! Summer has begun officially now!

My mom worked with Emily on doing tummy time. We're working on 15 minutes a day but only get about 3-5 minutes at a time before she screams, but she's doing better.

Emily was so exhausted from her weekend that she slept from 10pm-6:30am on Sunday night! That's 8 1/2 hours folks-the longest she's slept EVER! Of course I'm not expecting that every night but she's still a good sleeper (for which I'm very grateful).

I have to also add that last Wednesday was the first time we left Emily with someone during the evening. Blaine's mom was so sweet to come over and watch her while I went out with some girlfriends for a much needed girls night out and Blaine went to a work dinner.  It was a little nerve racking but we survived and she apparently did great. It was nice to have a few adult hours out too. Maybe we'll go on a date next! :) Thanks Nancy!!

Next thing for us to work on will be nap time...she doesn't like to sleep in her crib during naps.  We also need to perfect our schedule, but we'll get there eventually-sigh.

XOXO

Happy Baby

Well, we think we have the cutest baby ever and she is growing so much! She had to go to the Dr. last Thursday (again) for a follow up to the upper GI test and Zantac prescription.  She weighed 10lbs 4oz!  

look at her little buddha (big) belly!

It was a bit of a waste of time if you ask me but its fun to get her weighed.  She's doing so much better since going on the medicine. She still spits up but isn't in pain anymore so we're happy. She's pretty fussy still when she has gas and i'm trying to figure out what it is that i'm eating that upsets her tummy.  Lately she's been a little more uncomfortable than normal.

I love that she's getting a little personality too. She's the most "talkative" in the mornings and its so fun to snuggle with her and "talk" back.  She's getting pretty good at smiling too and hopefully we're on the verge of laughing.  We certainly think we're funny and try our hardest to get a giggle out of her!  

I keep thinking about what my dad said: "You'll spend the first 12 months teaching her to walk and talk then the next 12 years telling her to sit down and shut up!" Probably more true than i know right now.

I hope she doesn't mind all these cute clothes too! I have so much fun picking out something for her to wear each day. I'm actually jealous of her fashionable closet.

Is this my brother? haha! Blaine bought me this monkey when i had my appendectomy a couple of years ago as my "be better present" and i used to sleep with it until Emily came along. The first few nights at home i tried sleeping with it but woke up in a sheer panic everytime b/c i thought it was her and that i was smothering her under the covers. I guess i thought i had been nursing her in the middle of the night and fell asleep with her. It seriously scared me to death. I still wake up sometimes thinking she's in the bed with us and i'm not sure why b/c we don't let her sleep with us. If anything i bring her into our room if she's gotten up before 7am and put her on her boppy lounger in the bed so that we can't roll over on her if we go back to sleep.  Guess i'm not getting as much sleep as i think i am since i have these panic attacks! I thought it would be funny to see them side by side...we'll keep checking to see how big she gets compared to him.

We love our baby girl so much!